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Archive for October, 2008

Who Owns Organic?

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on October 30, 2008 | 5 Comments »

It’s a question Dr. Phil Howard, an assistant professor at Michigan State University, has spent a lot of time trying to answer. Howard’s research focuses on the food system, the changes occurring within that system, and how those changes affect communities. So why does it matter? Many consumers choose foods that come from organic small-scale [...]

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Women in Chiapas Coffee Co-operative Organize to Protect the Biosphere, Feed their Families, and Diversify their Incomes

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on October 22, 2008 | 1 Comment »

                                          The story of the CESMACH (Campesinos Ecológicos de la Sierra Madre de Chiapas) coffee co-operative in Mexico is a powerful example of what a group of far-sighted and tenacious farmers, with a commitment to protect the unique cloud forest in which they live, can accomplish when they set their [...]

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Step up to the Plate on World Food Day: A Call to Action to End the Food Crisis

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on October 16, 2008 | 1 Comment »

One billion people around the world face hunger and food insecurity. Every time I hear that statistic (and it keeps growing), it never ceases to astound me. I’m struck both by the fact that in today’s world we have allowed this situation to occur AND that we have seen so little put forth by the [...]

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Heiveld Rooibos Finalist for BBC World Challenge

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on October 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment »

Those of you who have been enjoying our delicious rooibos tea, purchased directly from the small scale farmer organizations of Heiveld and Wupperthal in South Africa, may also be familiar with the work that the farmers are doing to mitigate the effects of the warming climate on their production. Equal Exchange has been supporting the [...]

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Planting Trees for Life in Nicaragua: One Year Later

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on October 9, 2008 | 2 Comments »

Get up early in the morning before the family awakens. Collect the firewood. Light the stove. Grind the corn that you prepared the night before and start making the pile of tortillas that will accompany your family’s meals throughout the day. The fire is burning, the beans are cooking… and the smoke is filling the [...]

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Why are Organic Fair Trade Coffee Co-operatives So Good For the Environment?

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on October 7, 2008 | 2 Comments »

Coffee grows best under a canopy of shade. By keeping their coffee farms well-forested, as well as by practicing sustainable farming methods, our producer partners are doing their part for the environment: reducing soil erosion, increasing soil fertility, maintaining habitat for wildlife and migratory songbirds, protecting water sources, and much, much more… Unfortunately, when visiting [...]

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FTF Commentary: The Credit Crisis and Fair Trade – possible consequences for producers, wholesalers and retailers

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on October 7, 2008 | Leave a Comment »

The Fair Trade Federation has published the following commentary about the credit crisis and Fair Trade, asking that the information be circulated widely. A string of financial problems within the US and world economy, triggered by a US housing crisis, have arisen in 2008. The question becomes how may these global problems manifest themselves within [...]

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